E. Rachael Hardcastle's Blog, page 33

The Author Interviews: #1: Alvin Atwater

In this series, I'll be interviewing self-published authors and writers about their books and their lives as writers.For my first interview, I had the privilege of interviewing Alvin ATWATER, author of Fragment: Book One today (16/07/2016) as part of my new blog mini-series, 'The Author Interviews'.ATWATER writes urban fantasy and his latest release is titled, 'The Destined'.What made you want to become a writer?Lack of control when it came to imagination. It makes me wonder if maybe my mom dropped me as a child. We lived in the country, so I had the vast of amount of grassy space, a trampoline, and time to orbit ideas through my head.Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever considered trying other genres?Fantasy is what I love: especially urban fantasy. I’ll soon have stories that will give Iron Druid or Dresden a run for its money. I do write other genres, though mainly humour. I’ve written mystery, suspense and thriller before. But ultimately, nothing is as fun as urban fantasy.What do you love most about writing and why?World building. There’s nothing like creating your own world, its rules, and following the hero who will change the fate of that world you’ve made. Sure, in most urban fantasy, the settings take place in the existing world, but that’s fine too.What do you dislike about writing and why?Procrastination. Distraction. The internet is sometimes the biggest beast when it comes to those two words.If you could trade places with any of your characters, which would you choose and why?Ha! This is a tough question. I often begin the stories with my characters in devastating situations. I can’t imagine trading places with them: my parents or entire family would be slaughtered or I’d end of having to go fight the Greek gods –them having an unfair advantage. Still, if I had to choose, it’d have to be Kian from The Destined. Or the main character. Being able to use magic as will would be awesome!If you could live in any of the worlds you have created, which would you choose and why?Zion. Practically everything has magic and every being can use it in some way.What's your writing routine or schedule like? Do you struggle to find time to write? How do you stay organised and keep to your deadlines?On deployment, I do struggle to find time to write. Long hours during the way and a lot of six-day work weeks. A small goal that I still struggle with is at least one completed chapter a day. Two being the preferred number though.Who or what inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?I don’t really have an inspiration. I don’t watch TV to be honest, I rarely play video games anymore, but I do love my audiobooks. Inspiration isn’t a tool for writers in my opinion. It’s an illusion. A sweet candy-tasting illusion. And there’s nothing wrong with taking it if it appears.Do you have a favourite author and if so, why do you enjoy their work?Kevin Hearne. The Iron Druid series is something that puts Dresden in its place, in my opinion. The characters are funny, memorable, and the plot is pure win.What do you find most challenging about being an indie/ self-published author and why?Getting reviews and sales. Those two are like the sun and the moon. Maybe life and death. It appears that you need reviews to get sales. But you need sales to get reviews from those readers.Thanks so much Alvin ATWATER for taking the time to be interviewed today.If anyone would like to check out Alvin ATWATER's work, you can visit his website byclicking here.

How Can I Help?

Happy Saturday!A huge thank you to the reader who kindly sent me this photo my latest releaseAeon Infinitum: Run For Your Lifebeing enjoyed yesterday.If you have a photograph of one of my novels you'd like to share with me, please get in touch. You can tag me on social media or email me via the contact page.This leads me to today's blog post!My friend is a self-published author. What can I do to support him/ her?I'm self-published and whenever a friend or family member shows interest or support, it's a wonderful feeling. Self-published (indie) authors don't always feel appreciated for their work because we're all small fish in an enormous pond of talent. We want to stand out and be made to feel that our books are 'real' in the eyes of the readers who usually only buy traditionally published books.So what can you do to support the indie author in your life? Here are my 5 recommended (free and quick) ways to do this:1)Bring up their writing in conversation. Ask them how their new book is coming along and tell them you liked the cover of their latest release. If you can strike up a conversation in the company of others, it might get them interested too.2)Share their posts on social media. Giving a post a thumbs up, like, share or a retweet will help them out more than you know, because it increases the writer's reach to hundreds of other potential customers and readers.3)Take a picture of you enjoying the book and send it to them. As above, we always like to see readers are enjoying our hard work. We like to hear from those we write for, even if what they have to say is negative. It's great for people to see the book is being purchased and also that author responds to contact. Others may then feel they can get in touch.4)Buy the book.You're not expected to rush out and spend money if the book isn't to your taste, but if there's a free offer or a coupon code, give it a quick share or click the download for free button. It helps to increase our sales figures during that time. We like to see our books are being read whether the reader has paid for them or not.5)Tell your friends.We'd appreciate a quick mention when you're discussing books with your friends and family. Why not drop in the line, 'Hey, did you know I have a friend who has recently published a book? It's called...'We'll love you forever!So thanks again for the picture and please do keep sending them in. I'll post them on my blog or on my social media for everyone to check out.Keep supporting the writers in your life!E. Rachael HardcastleWatch and subscribe to myYouTube Channel here: my latest videos (Ask An Author #3 and You're A Writer NOW!) are up and ready .

The Writer Tag

Hi there! Today I'm doing the writer's tag. After watching a vlog by Kim Chance on YouTube, I thought I'd give this a go and challenge you all in return to do your own!I was going to do this as a video rather than a blog post but I figured I hadn't updated this in a while so here goes...Writer Tag Questions 1. What do you eat or drink while writing?Coffee during the day and sometimes a glass of wine in the evening. I like to have some snacks, but nothing that leave crumbs on my fingers so I can

50+ Twitter # For Writers

Afternoon, everyone.A few weeks ago I posted 30 Twitter # for writers and you loved them, so I have decided to combine those with another bunch to give you an awesome list (organised into segments) of those I have in my hashtag bible. I hope these are helpful.I will continue to add to this blog post as I come across new ones, you it might be worth bookmarking the page if you need any

Researching Your Audience

Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday!You all know how much I love to interact with my readers and with other writers, so I've been sending out some 'reader feedback' poll forms over the past two weeks, collecting information to help me research what readers look for and what they like when shopping online. The great thing about this is not only can indie authors help fix how our books appear to the world, but we can also learn so much about what's important to the people we value.Reading through some of

Taking A Chance

Happy Thursday! Stand on your tiptoes, you can see the weekend...Why is it important to take a chance on an unknown indie author?First of all, you might want to know what an indie author actually is and that's fair, so basically... it's me! Independant Author. I do everything myself. Not all of us do though. Some indie authors like to hire in editors and cover designers to help them out with the final touches, which is fine. Personally, I like to keep control of my creativity across all aspects

Matte Vs Glossy

Hi Everyone,Thanks for stopping by again!I received my first proof for Aeon Infinitum yesterday so thought I'd share with you what my thoughts are about the glossy cover vs the matte cover. I've done a vlog for my YouTube channel (see below) for you to check out. I also talk a bit about the book and read you the back.Thanks so much. Happy Tuesday.E. Rachael Hardcastle

Do Haters Hate Hating? 3 Types Of Hater & How To Deal!

Afternoon All,Happy Saturday!So today I'm talking about haters. Being an indie author means I unfortunately cross paths with 'haters' more often than I'd like, and sometimes dealing with those people can be difficult. I have identified three types of 'hater' and three ways to get over them. Here we go, grab a pen...1) Jealousy! The person who puts you down and asks you awkward or embarrasing questions they know you won't want to answer in public. They too have a book published and think yours

30 Twitter # For Writers

If you're new to Twitter or would like some handy hashtags for your posts, here are 30 writing related # you can use and some that will help with promotion and finding communities.

Using Canva

 Today I thought I'd talk you through the benefits of using Canva.com for your ebook covers and designs. Canva is a free online tool that you can use as often as you like, completely free of charge. All you need to do is create an account and be sure to use images that state they are free. Canva charge for some images, but they are only $1 each if you decide to purchase your graphics instead. Canva is really easy to use, with facilities to add text and amend it to meet your requirements, upload